Duchess Meghan makes secret trip to honour South African student who was murdered – and reveals more secret visits during royal tour

By Zach Harper

September 28, 2019

Duchess Meghan made a secret visit to the spot
where a South African student was brutally murdered last week and left a touching note on behalf of herself and
Prince Harry. She also revealed several other meetings she has quietly held over the last two days while her husband has been in Botswana and Angola.

On Sept. 26, the Duchess of Sussex travelled to see a memorial to Uyinene Mrwetyana, 19, a University of Cape Town student whose brutal slaying has shocked South
Africa. While there, Meghan left a note written in Xhosa that was said to be in calligraphic script.

“Simi kunye kulesisimo – ‘We stand together in this moment,’”
the caption read.

“The Duchess of Sussex has tied a ribbon at the site where
19-year-old Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana was murdered last month, to pay
her respects and to show solidarity with those who have taken a stand against
gender based violence and femicide. Over the last month in Capetown [sic],
protests erupted through the streets in outrage over GBV in South Africa. The
Duke and Duchess had been following what had happened from afar and were both
eager to learn more when they arrived in South Africa. The Duchess spoke to the
mother of Uyinene this week to relay their condolences."

Meghan also revealed she has had a series of secret
visits during the royal tour so she can “deepen her understanding of the
current situation and continue to advocate for the rights of women and girls.”

The post said travelling to the site of Uyinene’s
death was “personally important” to Meghan who has made dealing with
gender-based violence a priority in her work.

“Uyinene’s death has mobilised people across South Africa
in the fight against gender based violence, and is taken as a critical point in
the future of women’s rights in South Africa,” the post continues. “The Duchess
has taken private visits and meetings over the last two days to deepen her understanding
of the current situation and continue to advocate for the rights of women and girls.
Fore more information on the recent events in South Africa, please see link in
bio. #AmINext”

Uyinene was beaten to death after being tortured and
murdered, and her slaying has left South Africa outraged and appalled. According
to the
Mirror, Meghan reportedly told her staff she was so upset by what happened
to Uyinene that she wanted to make time in her incredibly busy schedule for a small
gesture in her memory.

Royal watchers will remember that when Meghan and Harry arrived in South Africa,
Meghan’s first speech during their 10-day royal
tour addressed violence against women and girls. She and Harry visited
The Justice Desk, which offers self-defence training for women and girls in Cape
Town. The organization’s motto is wathint’abafazi wathint’imbokodo,” which
means, “when you strike a woman, you strike a rock” in Xhosa.

“The rights of women and girls is something that is
very close to my heart, and the cause I have spent the majority of my life
advocating for because I know that when women are empowered, the entire
community flourishes,” Meghan said at the beginning of her speech.

“I read a quote a few weeks ago and it resonated
with me as I’ve been watching what’s been happening here and your efforts.
Maya
Angelou, the legendary poet and civil rights activist, once said,
‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it, possibly without
claiming it, she stands up for all women.’”

Harry spent Sept. 26 in Botswana, where he planted trees
with children at Chobe National Park, and was given a demonstration by the Botswana
Defence Forces about how they are dealing with poaching in the area.

The 35-year-old
then travelled to an orthopedic hospital Diana visited in the city and
renamed it in her honour before he went to the capital of Luanda and reunited with Sandra Tigica, a landmine survivor who met his mother in Angola when she was just 16
years old and has since named one of her children after Diana.

Harry will return to South Africa in October, and
will reunite with Meghan for a series of engagements on Oct. 1 before their
tour wraps the next day.